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Excited atmosphere in inaugural match for AFC Ann Arbor

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Amateur Football Club Ann
Arbor hosted San Marino Football Club, a soccer team out of Troy Mich., in the
team’s first match of its inaugural season in the Great Lakes Premier League,
losing 2-1 on Friday evening at Holloway Field in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Over 2,000 fans from Ann
Arbor and surrounding communities packed into the stands at Holloway Field to
watch AFC Ann Arbor take on league foe San Marino FC in the first professional
soccer match to be held at the stadium. At times the crowd seemed to be
overwhelming to some of the players who aren’t familiar with soccer at the
professional level.

“The loss may have been
about learning to play in this type of atmosphere for some of these guys,” David
Hebestreit said. “So we had a sense of disconnect.”

AFC Ann Arbor was missing 12
players, because of NCAA eligibility rules, which forced Hebestreit to start
more inexperienced players in his line-up.

The game started out strong
for AFC Ann Arbor as the team pushed the ball forward and got some quality
attempts on goal. Midfielder Alex Morrisset had AFC Ann Arbor’s first chance on
goal, but the headed shot was put wide.

In the 17 minute a
communication breakdown by the AFC Ann Arbor backline resulted in the first
goal of the match, scored by San Marino FC’s forward Mario Morana, giving San
Marino FC a 1-0 lead.

But it was AFC Ann Arbor
forward Kyle Breitmeyer that handled a great weighted pass from soccer veteran
and journeyman Knox Cameron to level the score at one in the 20th minute.

Knox Cameron is a veteran
soccer player who has played a season for the Columbus Crew, a Major League
Soccer team. Cameron scored four goals in 30 appearances for the Crew.

“He’s been at this level,
and even higher levels,” Hebestreit said about Cameron. “It is very comfortable
knowing that in a tough situation like tonight he isn’t turning on his
teammates.”

But it was AFC Ann Arbor
goalkeeper Thomas Tomasso who stole the show, and won the “Man of the Match
Award” for Friday’s contest. Tomasso made an unprecedented 11 saves against San
Marino FC, including many saves that kept the game close.

Tomasso made an
inspirational one-on-one save in the second half to keep the game tied at one,
giving AFC Ann Arbor a chance to win. But all of Tomasso’s saves couldn’t win
the game for his team.

After a handful of great
opportunities for AFC Ann Arbor, which included two over-the-top balls from
Cameron to Breitmeyer that gave the team multiple chances to take the lead but
they couldn’t seize the chances, San Marino FC took a 2-1 lead. Mackenzie
Bechard scored the goal in the 57th minute.

After San Marino FC took the
lead, AFC Ann Arbor began to pressure the defense. There were multiple chances
for both Cameron and Breitmeyer, which included a shot that hit the cross-bar,
but AFC Ann Arbor couldn’t earn a tying goal.

On the other side of the
pitch, Tomasso kept coming up with save after save, including a save that
denied San Marino FC forward Sam Seppo at point-blank range.

A great chance for AFC Ann
Arbor came in the 90th minute when forward Matt Lang got past the San
Marino FC backline and made a move to make a shot, but the ball went right into
San Marino FC’s goalkeeper.

Ann Arbor FC’s inaugural
match ended in a 2-1 loss, but coach Hebestreit dismissed any concerns heading
into the bulk of the season.

“As a team we have a long
way to go, and we’ll get there and I’m not concerned about that, there is
nothing in me that is worried about this season,” he said. “When you play in an
atmosphere like this, you have to know that teams are gunning for you.”